Clue 7

Here is a picture of my finished Clue 7.  This clue was posted early this morning but I just now finished it.  We were to make four of the smaller triangles and twelve of the larger ones.  It was really a lot of sewing to get this done today.  This is going to be a very colorful quilt!  The colors don't show up as brightly in the picture as they do in person.  I wonder now if it was wise to change Bonnie's gray to the much brighter yellow/orange I am using.  The next clue will be posted tomorrow morning and I wanted to have this clue done before hand. 

Happy New Year everyone! 

Clue 6 and Christmas Pictures

Bonnie Hunter is not putting a linky on her blog about Clue 6 of the mystery quilt this week because she is posting Clue 7 on Monday morning instead.  I have documented each step of this mystery so far so I am doing the same this week.  She had us make 128 double-bricks of the background black-on-white fabrics and 16 5 1/2" squares cut corner to corner twice to make 48 triangles.  Maybe on Monday we will start putting all these parts together!  This was the easiest step of all.  This quilt is called "Easy Street".

 Here are a couple of pictures I took during our family gift exchange.  In the first picture Jason and Adam are talking while Audrey was showing me one of her gifts.   

The second picture shows Richard opening one of his presents while conversing with Jason and Adam.  I got him a set of tools for Christmas.  By the way, the tools were made of chocolate!

All this was done on Christmas Eve.  The next day I made a nice Christmas dinner of a big ham while Richard spent the day at work.  I also made two graham cracker pies - just like my grandmother used to make.  They are work-intensive, so I don't do it very often.

Easy Street Mystery Quilt Clue 5 Done

This is a picture of my clue 5 pieces.  I hope I used enough variety in these pieces.  I really love the turquoise and purple together, and I can't wait to see how it all looks together, when we add the green and other pieces to the whole.  I know this will be a beautiful quilt, because all of Bonnie Hunter's designs are georgous.  I am so happy I used Bonnie's colors, except her gray I changed for an orangle/yellow print that is as saturated as the other colors.  Without seeing her quilt (after all, this is a mystery) I think gray would be dull.  At least, the gray I had in my stash was a downer for sure.  I have laid out some of the pieces from all five clues and still have no idea what this quilt will look like.  I understand we now have over half of the quilt made.  I guess I can wait a while longer.

On another note, one reason I am glad Christmas is almost over.  Turtlenecks.  I hate them.  I only wear turtlenecks from Thanksgiving until Christmas each year.  I hate having that fabric directly under my chin.  I always feel like I am strangling to death.  If it wasn't tradition I would give all mine to Goodwill and never look back.  I love my Christmas sweaters and I wish they had a design on them that I could wear all winter.  I also love the Christmas denim jumper I am wearing in the picture.  I bought the jumper at Goodwill a couple of years ago and machine embroidered Santa's sleigh on the bodice and each of the nine reindeer around the hem.  I got the designs from Embroidery Library (emblibrary.com).  I got the Christmas blouse at Goodwill too.  My friend Diane took that picture at work the other day.  Sorry the picture is on its side but I couldn't see any way to change that. 

Clue 4 of the mystery quilt finished

I finally finished clue 4 of Easy Street, Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt.  These are 64 stacked flying geese and 145 green 3 1/2" squares.  My flying geese turned out pretty well only needing to be trimmed a sliver.  I cut as many different green squares that I could.  I had some small scraps in green and I used them up.  So glad to use something up small enough to throw away the tiny scraps!  Added some strings to my strings collection, soon have to make something wonderful out of them.  I got my fabrics cut for this clue on Friday morning and then turned on the TV and found out about the massacre of the schoolchildren in Connecticut.  I was not able to sew after that - and I was not able to turn off the TV and get away from it.  I spent the day in tears and horror.  Saturday morning I just refused to turn on the set and stayed away from it that way.  It was still hard to sew because I am left in my thoughts.  In my mind I see my grandson, Damien, being slaughtered in his first-grade classroom.  That's enough!  I am going to get away from it now!

New Addition to the Family!

Meet Opal - my new sewing machine!  This is one of the newest sewing machines that Husqvarna Viking makes.  It is an Opal 650, just came out about a month and a half ago.  I took our floor model machine to the retreat with Bonnie Hunter last month and fell in love.  I wanted this machine to take to retreats and sew-ins and any other time I need a sewing machine so I won't have to take my Husqvarna Viking Designer SE LE.  My SE - Essie - can stay right there in the sewing room and won't get knocked around or dropped or mistreated.  Essie is an embroidery machine and a darn good sewing machine and I want to keep her in good shape.  She is still my go-to machine here at home, but I am taking Opal anywhere else.  Essie and Opal use the same bobbins and the same feet (even the walking foot) so they can share.  They even feel about the same while sewing!  The only thing is that Opal doesn't have the sensor system that raises and lowers the presser foot but that isn't a problem.  I got Opal as an early Christmas present to myself!

Clue Number Three is Done!

Yesterday morning Bonnie Hunter posted the third clue to the new mystery quilt, Easy Street.  I got right on it and started cutting my fabrics.  I had some errands to run so only got the cutting done, and the black-on-white prints sewn onto one side of the purple squares.  I took them to work with me today and sewed the rest in between customers.  I had shorted myself two blocks so I made those two this evening.  I almost forgot to cut the two green squares and slice them in half as Bonnie said to do for a future part of the quilt.  Now I have many other things to do until next Friday when she will publish the next clue.  I have done almost no Christmas shopping and Christmas is just around the corner!  My tree is bare!  I have decided to reduce the dollar amount I spend on everyone this year.  Well-thought-out gifts don't need to be expensive! 

My Bonnie Quilts

The other day someone on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltvillechat group asked how many Bonnie quilts have we all made?  The lists people have posted is staggering!  I knew Bonnie had a lot of quilt designs out there, many of them free on her website, others offered in books.  Many have done 25 or 30 or more!  I have done quite a few myself.  I first found Bonnie when she was starting her mystery quilt Double Delight.  I jumped right in and got that one made and many more now.   Here is my list.  I may have forgotten a couple.

Double Delight
Cathedral Stars
Fourth of July
Pineapple Blossom - throw, king
Streak of Sunshine - at least five of six baby quilts
Strip Twist
Orca Bay (I call mine Almost Heaven)
Roll Roll Cotton Boll - ufo (center of quilt made, border made, not put together)
Carolina Christmas
Wild Child - in progress

Pictured are Cathedral Stars, Almost Heaven (Bonnie's Orca Bay), and one of the Pineapple Blossom quilts.  I have pictures of most all my quilts, some on my old computer.  I guess I am going to have to get them onto the new computer.  I am most proud of my Almost Heaven quilt, called that because it is made of the colors I see out my front door all summer at my house in West Virginia.

I have also made several quilts by Judy Laquidara - Note to Self, Connect the Dots, and the June 2010 mystery quilt.  I am learning to design my own quilts on Electric Quilt 7, or EQ7.

Clue Number Two Finished

This week Bonnie Hunter posted Clue Number Two of her new Mystery Quilt, Easy Street.  Participants were told to make 128 flying geese units using purple and the white/black print fabrics.  I got all mine done this evening.  She also said to cut 64 2"X3 1/2" rectangles out of the white/black prints for a future clue.  My rectangles are on the lower left corner of the picture.  I also got some more done on my Wild Child quilt.  I now have three rows put together.  I still have seven more rows to do, but I haven't put those blocks together yet.  It's really turning out great.  Of course, I haven't made a Bonnie Hunter design yet that wasn't great.

NO HEAT!

Oh no, the heat pump isn't working!  No kidding, Richard called me at work yesterday and said the compressor wasn't working on the heat pump.  He put the unit in nine or ten years ago but he was stumped about why the compressor wasn't working.  He made a call to a heating and cooling company to come look at it.  I told him I hope he has a boatload of money.  Since he has always done this kind of work here we have not had to pay a lot of money for it.  The heating and cooling guy was supposed to call this afternoon and he didn't call at all.  Hopefully, Richard has now fixed the unit.  He replaced the capacitor a couple of years ago and he thinks it went bad.  It cost like ten dollars for a new one, so he replaced it again and now we have heat again.  He goes from vent to vent with his little lazer gun testing the temperature of the air coming out.  He seems to be satisfied by what he is finding.  We got a little chilled last night.  We have an electric fireplace in the living room (one of the best purchases we ever made) and a couple of little heaters.  We can also wrap up tight in fleece.  In the middle of the night I got up to go to the bathroom and felt chilly so I put a fleece nightgown over top of my nylon nightgown.  I had an extra fleece blanket at hand but I didn't use it.  I sleep under a fleece blanket all year, especially in the summer because of the air conditioning.  And for the winter we have fleece sheets on the beds.

Debbie, Diane and Tammy were going to Debbie's house today to work on Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt.  I didn't go because Richard stayed home to take care of the heat pump.  I already have the first clue finished so if I had gone I would have worked on my Wild Child quilt.  I hated missing out.  Tomorrow I work from 11 to 4 so I will take my Wild Child so I can work on it between customers.  I have my choice of machines to sew on while at work and I have been choosing the new Viking Opal 650.  I am going to buy one when they open up sales to Viking employees.  It will be a great machine to take to retreats and to other's houses to sew for a day.  It uses the same feet and bobbins as my Viking SE.  I hate to move the SE around because I could bump it and mess up the computer in it.  The Opal sews just like my SE and I like that.

On a kitty note, Rosie is somewhat off her feed.  She is eating but not like usual and has puked several times.  That is not like her.  She doesn't act sick though.  I am keeping a close watch on her.  Here are some pictures of Rosie, the last one on my Almost Heaven quilt (Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay) before it was quilted.

New Mystery Quilt Started

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving.  We had a nice dinner - turkey and ham and all the trimmings.  As usual, I had all the work to do myself.  I guess my family will never get the idea that I'd like to be invited somewhere else!  We didn't do any shopping afterwards.  I just didn't need anything bad enough to brave the crowds.  I would rather pay a little more and save Thanksgiving for family.  Besides, I don't have any idea what to get for anyone for Christmas, and I didn't need a new TV set or computer or anything that they put on sale for Black Friday.  I worked from 8-4 on Friday and stayed home all day today.

My favorite quilt designer, Bonnie Hunter, posted the first clue to her new mystery quilt on Friday morning.  She said to make 192 four-patches using the constant fabric (the only one that is not scrappy in this quilt) and the black-on white prints (background fabrics).  I guess I got a little overenthusiastic about it - I made 14 extra four-patches.  I love the colors together so I will save those extra ones to add to a quilt in the future, once I see how much of the orange/yellow print I have left.  I actually bought an extra half-yard of this fabric (most of the rest of the fabrics came out of my stash except for a few fat quarters I bought at JoAnn Fabrics yesterday).  The next clue will be posted next Friday morning so I am ready a little early.  In the meantime I will work on my Wild Child quilt that I started recently.  I am still putting the components of the blocks together so there is still plenty of work to do on it.

Richard and I put up the outside Christmas lights last weekend while it was still warm outside, but we didn't turn them on until Thanksgiving night.  Today I started moving furniture in the living room and Richard set up the Christmas tree for me.  We put up the four-foot prelit tree this year.  I put some gold garland on it and my favorite ornaments (sadly, had to throw a few broken ones away).  I love the Christmas lights and the electric fireplace.  Too bad there are no presents under the tree.  I guess I had better get busy and figure out what everyone wants for Christmas this year. 

Christmas Ornament

I found this really cute pattern for a Christmas ornament in a McCall's Quilting magazine from December 1997.  It wasn't until I was actually sewing the first one that I realized that it is made exactly like my 3-D Bowtie block that I made 3 quilts from.  You use half-square triangle blocks on the ends to make it look like a spool.  I think it is terrific and I intend to make quite a few of these.  It is smaller than it looks in the picture.  The red plaid block is just 4".  I bought a quarter yard of red and white stripe and a quarter yard of green and white stripe to make the spools.  Excuse the pins in the picture.  I haven't finished sewing this block yet.  I also need to add ribbon for a hanger.

Remember the fire in the previous post?  It was ruled arson.  Thank heavens no one was injured.  The owner had moved out because someone had stolen the copper wire in the house.  The bad thing was that it was way up on the hill where the streets are very narrow.  Only the small fire engines were able to get up there.  There are usually cars parked on both sides and you can only drive down the middle and most are curvy and steep.  I don't want to live up there.

Fire on the Hill!

This was the scene outside my front window last night.  There was a very large fire going on up on the hill.  It burned for quite some time before firefighters got it down to invisible from here.  It looked to me like a house burned and also caught some trees aflame.  I haven't heard this morning anything about this.  I sure hope no one was injured or worse.

More Pics from the Retreat

Here are some more pictures of Bonnie Hunter's quilts from the trunkshow on Friday night.  It was wonderful seeing the quilts that I have seen so many times on her website and in her books.  I really enjoyed the trunkshow, I think we all did.  Every time another quilt was brought out there were ohhs and ahhs from the crowd.  Everyone was flashing cameras too.  I'll bet Bonnie was blinded by all the flashes!  She is really a good teacher, down-to-earth and just a regular person.  Enjoy the pictures!

Weekend with Bonnie Post !!

The first picture is of Bonnie Hunter as she is teaching our group.  She is a very clear speaker and gives a lot of information.  She is also very humorous, making jokes and laughing out loud.  After a short lecture she would come around and visit each one of us to make sure we knew what we were doing.  And when she found you had finished the block she would announce it to the whole group!

The second picture shows the fog we got up to on Sunday morning.  It was nice that we were only going a short distance to the building our class was being held in.  The fog soon burned off but the morning stayed cloudy.

The third picture is from the trunk show on Friday night.  It is called "Wild Child" and is the one I started last week.  I need 80 string blocks (already made) and 800 half-square triangles (I have made 540 so far).  I'd like to start putting mine together next week so I can devote myself to my Smith Mountain Morning quilt that I started in class on Saturday.  Then Bonnie's mystery quilt will start on Thanksgiving, so I expect to be busy for the next few months.

Lastly, this picture is of the blocks I made in class this weekend.  The first one is my Smith Mountain Morning block (I started a second block but decided I needed more variety in my fabrics, so I didn't finish it.)  The little block is a Pineapple Crazy quilt block and is it CRAZY!  I took one look and decided I would not do this class because I don't like paper piecing much and it was too fiddly and small for me to fool with.  Linda said I should try it anyway so I did, and made this block.  I do love the block but I am not sure I would ever do much work like this.  I'll try to post some more pictures this evening.  I need to spend today getting things ready to take to the polls tomorrow where I will be an election official in the Presidential election.  I will get up at 5 o'clock and be at my polling place by 5:30.  The polls are then opened at 6:30 and don't close until 7:30 at night.  I will finally get home around 8:15, tired and worn out by the long day.  I intend to spend the next day resting!

Weekend with Bonnie Hunter!

The first picture is Linda and me with Bonnie Hunter herself!  It was taken this morning at Pipestem State Park near Princeton, West Virginia.  I will be talking about this weekend in several posts because my blog host is not happy about too many photos at one time.  The second pic is Bonnie with the quilt we were there to learn to make.  It is called Smith Mountain Morning and is in her book "Scraps and Shirtails II."  We spent the day on that quilt lesson yesterday.  A picture of my block is on Bonnie's bllog "Quiltville's Quips and Snips."  There is also a terrific picture of Linda holding up the block she made this morning.  The third picture is Bonnie's BowTie quilt, the one that got me started making my bowties.  Her bowties were a lot smaller than mine.  I made a baby quilt, a throw, and a king-size quilt out of my bowties.  The last picture is Bonnie's Hexagon quilt that she has just finished after working on it for 12 years.  It is entirely hand sewn, mainly on airplanes and any time she has to wait a while.  You can't believe how gorgeous it was.  Look for more posts about this weekend.  I have a lot more to show!

Bonnie's New Mystery Quilt Fabrics

These are the fabrics I have chosen for Bonnie K. Hunter's new Mystery Quilt called Easy Street that she will start on Thanksgiving.  I decided to use the same colors that Bonnie used in hers, except the gray in the back may change.  She just posted the fabrics this morning and I went immediately to my stash and realized that I had a pretty good amount of fabrics in the same colors so that is what I am going to use.  I may add some more purples and I have more white/black prints in my stash.  I just don't like my gray, which Bonnie is using as a constant, not scrappy.  If I can find something I would be happier with I will change, but I bet my gray will work just as well. 

I will be meeting Bonnie herself on Friday.  The weekend retreat with Linda's guild has been moved from Hawk's Nest to Pipestem because Hawk's Nest has no power and has shut down.  Our group was lucky to get in to Pipestem for the weekend.  I think Fayette County where Hawk's Nest is was hit pretty hard by the snow from Monster Storm Sandy.  Here in Charleston we did get some snow on the ground but it rained all day and by the next morning the snow was gone.    We are supposed to have better weather for the next few days.

I have already packed Essie, my sewing machine, into her luggage and have been gathering my sewing notions.  I will be taking too much stuff but who knows how much you need?  I think it would be better to take too much than to wish I had something I left behind.  I'm sure I will forget something. 

Wild Child!

Wild Child is the name of the quilt I started the other day.  It is from Bonnie K. Hunter's new book called String Fling.  The first picture is of the half-square triangles I have made for this quilt.  I need 400 of the purple ones in front and I have made 48.  I also need 400 of the assorted dark ones in the back and I have made 192 so far.  I also need 80 of the string blocks (see second picture) and I have already made all I need.  The third and fourth pictures show Bonnie Hunter's quilt in the book.  Where she used turquoise I am using the purple (in the front of the first picture).  My quilt may not be as bright as hers, unless I use more brights than darks.  I am not in a hurry to get this one made.  I am going to Hawk's Nest next weekend for classes with Bonnie Hunter herself!  She will be teaching her Smith Mountain Morning quilt which I have already chosen my fabrics and cut some strips.  The second day she will be teaching her Pineapple Crazy quilt.  I am looking forward to that one because I have already made two quilts from her Pineapple Blossom quilt, which is not the same.  I have this week now to get my sewing machine ready and packed up and half my sewing room stuffed into luggage to take with me!  I am sure I will be taking too much stuff but who knows what you really need?  So I will take nearly everything.   

King-size Pineapple Blossom Finished!

I have just this minute finished my big Pineapple Blossom quilt.  It is 110 inches square, which makes it generous king-size.  I have been working on this off and on for a couple of months now.  I made a throw-sized Pineapple Blossom for a class at work and then just kept on making blocks until I came up with the king.  I put a different border on this one.  I used the bonus half-square triangles from the blocks to go all around the quilt as the second border.  The first and third borders were a tone-on-tone black to frame all the different fabrics in the blocks.  It's funny but I make all these quilts out of my scrap bins but the bins never seem like there is anything missing.  This one won't get quilted probably until next month because my favorite long-arm quilter, Vonda Cochran, is going away on vacation.  That's ok, this can wait until she gets back.  I don't have any definite plans for it anyway.

I am looking for my next project so I can start cutting fabrics.  Bonnie Hunter's new book, String Fling, has a quilt pattern in it called Wild Child that features 4 1/2" string blocks surrounded by half-square triangles and it looks right up my alley.  I have been wanting to do a string project.  Strings are narrow strips of fabric pieced on paper or muslin.  I am using paper so I can remove it after I get the blocks made.  This is another project that can come straight out of my scrap bins. 

WVU Lost! Oh No!

I was very disappointed about West Virginia University's loss to Texas Tech today.  I don't think they played up to their usual standard, but I really wasn't surprised - I'd been warning Richard that WVU would probably lose the first game to an unranked opponent.  They will most likely drop from the top five to (maybe!) the top fifteen, if they are lucky.  And Geno Smith's Heisman hopes probably hit the toilet today.

I have mentioned before that I am going to Hawk's Nest for the weekend of November 3 to take a class with Bonnie K. Hunter, my favorite quilt designer.  She will be teaching her Smith Mountain Morning quilt.  I cut my fabrics for this quilt at work on Thursday.  Bonnie did her quilt in blues and browns with a muslin background (see the picture) and I decided to use blues and browns because I have so much of each (especially blues) in my stash.  I am using a tone-on-tone white for the background.  The second picture shows my beautiful fabrics sort of spread out.  I think I have a pretty good variety of both colors.  I could still add more if I run across something that would look good with the others.  The next day we will have a three-hour class on her Pineapple Crazy quilt from her latest book, String Fling.  It is made with string blocks.  Smith Mountain Morning is from her book, Scraps and Shirttails II.  I hope to have her sign both my books that weekend. 

My Shop Hop Prize!

These are pictures of the bag of stuff I won at last week's Shop Hop.  If the pictures loaded in the correct order they are - everything in the first picture, just the fabrics in the second picture, just the patterns and book in the third picture, and the rest of the stuff in the last one.  The jelly roll is from Moda, looks like about 40 jelly roll strips (2 1/2" by the width of the fabric) from the Rising Sun collection from Sara Khammash.  The square with the red ribbon around it is a set of seven coordinating fat quarters from Maywood Studios.  The one with the black ribbon is nine coordinating fat quarters of Halloween fabric.  The roll of fabric in front is four fat eighths of butterfly fabric in different colors.  There were also two charm packs (5" squares) from Andover Fabrics, one in black and gray and the other in various calicoes.  Last but not least in the fabrics catagory is three packages of rectangles (2 1/2" X 5") of 40 pieces each of different collections from Moda.  They are Oasis, Buttercup, and Modern Workshop.  All this is perfect for a scrap quilter like me.  The book is The Natural World from Art Quilt Portfolio (Profiles of Major Artists and Galleries of Inspiring Works).  Art quilts are not my thing but I am going to look the pictures right off the pages!  There is a pattern from Thimbleberries to make a Halloween Tablerunner.  I have a pattern from Toadusew to make a quilt called Spinnaker that looks like a lot of fun!  I also have two patterns from Amy Butler, one for a halter top (not for me!) and one for a bag called the Kimberly Bag (probably not for me either).  There is also a quilting stencil, samples of batting, some spools of thread, and a nice big emery board.  I also got a pair of fine-point embroidery scissors with big fingerholes.  I think I listed everything here.  I believe you can click on the pictures to make them bigger so you can see everything better.  I have to thank The Fabric Shop in Pomeroy, Ohio for such a wonderful gift, and also thank the Mystery Harvest Shop Hop people for putting together such a terrific shop hop, with quilt shops not too far apart and very interesting completely different shops!  We had a great time and enjoyed all the food.  I was afraid I would weigh 250 pounds when it was over!  Really looking forward to next year and a whole new Shop Hop!

Mystery Harvest Shop Hop

Debbie, Diane, Tammy and I went on the Mystery Harvest Shop Hop last week.  It was two days of quilt shopping and girl talk and laughter!  There were 12 quilt shops located mostly along the Ohio River and we hit them all.  The snowman block in the picture was on the panel of blocks that was featured at all the shops.  I bought the panel and then as a gift the shops gave us each another panel.  Since I have two of them now I think I will color one with colored pencils or crayons.  The actual panel is just blue on white fabric, no other colors.  We had a really good time, spending the night in Gallipolis, Ohio and eating at all the shops.  They each had a recipe for the shoppers and lots of good food.  One shop had meatballs made with saurkraut!  I loved it!  I got the recipe, maybe I'll make it for the quilt retreat at Cedar Lakes in February.  We also had cookies and candy galore!  We really didn't need to eat in a restaurant but since we were in Pomeroy, Ohio we ate dinner at the Wild Horse Cafe, sort of famous place.  I got a huge burger with onion straws, one of my favorite things.  I got away from the shophop without spending a lot of money.  I generally buy patterns but I didn't see any I couldn't do without.  The best thing is - I won a prize from the shop in Pomeroy!  Each shop prepares a basket with patterns and fat quarters and more stuff and gives it away in a daily prize, and the Pomeroy shop called me on Saturday morning to tell me I had won!  They were having a meeting of all the shops on Monday and Phyllis from the Hurricane shop was going to get my basket for me.  I am going to Phyllis' shop on Friday to get it.  I can't wait to see what I get!

The other picture shows a quilt pattern they were selling to make the state of West Virginia to hang on the wall.  Tammy bought that pattern.  She is going to keep it at her home in the Cayman Islands.

End of summer and a guest in the house!

My impatiens in the front yard were looking really bad so I pulled them out today after the WVU game.  Richard was cutting the grass so I said it was time for them to go.  When he got dome with our grass he cut the grass over at Audrey's house.  He said probably one more cutting this year.  I would like to get some winter pansies or something to have in this bed for the winter.

We had our cardiac workout this evening.  Rosie came running in here and I heard a little squeal along with the sound of running feet.  I knew immediately that there was a mouse in the house!  I yelled for Richard (who said Nonsense!!!) and started moving things around.  Then I saw it!  The biggest mouse I have ever, ever seen!  Richard put his shoes on and as I moved things it ran out of my room and into the living room.  Richard saw it then.  I think he thought I was crazy!  He put his shoes on and we went after it.  I gave him the broom and started moving the sofa and loveseat away from the walls.  It ran around back and forth and even right under my feet!  I am wearing fleece socks so I stepped on the toe of one of my socks and almost fell flat on the floor.  And then Richard said open the door!  So I propped the storm door open and moved the sofa and Richard banged on it with the broom and it ran out the door!  I was never so happy so see a guest leave my home!  We can't figure out how it came in.  It couldn't have been here long, because with five cats (even cats who would never kill a mouse) I am sure I would know if a mouse was here for very long.  Now I am paranoid about finding another mouse (or two) and keeping my feet up off the floor.  By the way, Richard said that judging from the size of it, that mouse was pregnant.

Echoes of Summer

Echoes of Summer is what I chose to call this quilt.  The first picture is the EQ7 rendition and the second is the quilt I made from the pattern.  The third picture shows a corner close up.  I really like this quilt and I think it will be an excellent class to teach at work this fall.  I used the Easy Angle ruler to make the half-square triangles and that is something that people own but don't know how it use it.  I will demo the ruler and teach how to use it, and also show them the old way of making half-square triangles.  This is the same block repeated but turned in different directions.  I made my quilt four blocks wide by four blocks long.  Each block calls for four half-square triangles and five four-patches, for a total of 64 half-square triangles and 80 four-patches.  It takes a little time to get all the pieces done and then to put the blocks together and then place the blocks in rows going the right direction.  I thought it was fun to make.  I can see that by changing the colors (switching darks and lights) the quilt could look totally different.  I may need to do some experimenting with that.